November 17, 2013

Another Squarish-Looking Hanging Thingy

This time, I used anodized aluminum (AA) rings with bright aluminum (BA) as captives. Same general specs as last one, but the aspect ratios (AR's) are slightly different.

Several things to keep in mind when switching materials:

1. The wire diameter (WD) can vary from vendor to vendor, even from batch to batch depending on when the rings were acquired.

2. The WD of AA can be very, very different depending on the colors; yes, even from the same vendor, the same batch; this happens to even the best vendors. My guess is it has to do with the anodizing process of aluminum, how much of the material is eaten away in order for the different pigments to enter and adhere to the voids in the metal.

3. Well, this one you maillers out there all know already, the inside diameter (ID) changes greatly from metal to metal; the harder temper ones have greater spring back, giving bigger ID, therefore, bigger AR; and this really throws up the overall structures!!

4. At the beginning of these shapes, the captive rings tend to pop out when I'm not looking. Felt like I was constantly running after that escaped ring for both of these projects... I'd imagine it may help by adding a piece of thin gauge wire to temporarily hold the first few squares together, kind of like using a piece of wire to start those pesky Half Persian weaves.

5. At last, but not least, the whole square will get tighter and tighter as you go. Much like many other chainmaille sculptures, the last few rings can make the toughest guys cry.... Well, not me!! I cheated a little by slightly folding the square to make the last few connections, sort of like "folding the space", ya know;-) Hee hee, does this sound geeky? But you get what I mean:-)

Any how, the results are very satisfying! I think I'll make a few more of these, maybe one in each color!